Safety razor



April 6, 194,3. N. TESTI l 2,315,990

' SAFETY RAZOR Filed sept. 1o, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 1 lNvENToR.

April 6, 1943. I N."rEs1-| l 2,315,990

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /i /6 2o 2.5.5 Mm..

` the magazine.

.Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED i STATESv PATENT OFFICE t Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application September 10, 1940,-Serial No. 356,173

20 Claims.

This invention consists in a new and improved safety razor characterized by blade-clamping members which are held together under spring pressure, so that a user is relieved of any necessity of tightening the razor after a blade has been presented thereto. The invention includes within its scope the novel combination of such a safety razor with a prying device for temporarily separating the blade-clamping members, and specically the combination of such a safety razor with a blade magazine shaped to function as a prying device.

Many features of the invention lie in the structural characteristics of the safety razor, such as the shape of its one-piece cap, the structure and location of its spring-clamping means and the fulcrum provided for the prying device.

The magazine is complete in itself as a container for a supply of fresh blades and is equipped which is forked to make preliminary engagement with the fulcrum block and which may be thereupon swung with the fulcrum block into contact with the cap member of the razor. As the cap member is thus'pried up the magazine encounters I stops which arrest it at the proper point and align its delivery opening with the vblade seat in the razor. After the magazine has made its preliminary lengagement it may be shifted longi,n tudinally in the fulcrum block to position the blade about to be delivered in proximity to the blade seat of the safety razor. The ejection of the blade from the magazine and its presentation ,l

to the blade seat of the safety razor is then effected reliably, accurately and without` any `danger of cutting the user. l

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a view of the razor in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view in longitudinal section; 4

Fig. 3 is a view in cross sectionon the line 3`-3 of Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 4 is a view in cross section on the line 4-'4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view `in .perspective of the 4fulcrum block shown on an enlarged scale;

Figs. 6 and 7 are views'in perspective respectively of the spring and cover plate;

Fig. 8 is a view of the razor in side elevation showing the magazine in its position of initial engagement therewith, the magazine being shown in section;

Fig. 9 'is a similar `view showing the magazine swung into operative position;

Fig. .10 is a plan view` corresponding to Fig. 9 except that the feeding device is shown inan advanced position, and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary `view in longitudinal section on the line \I II`I of Fig. 10 and on a still larger scale. I

\ fulcrum shoulders over which the blade is flexed.

The safety razor l"illustrated includes in its structure a handle IU which is screwed at its upper end into an elongated bladefsupporting member or' plate II forming one of two `blade-clamping members between which a flexible double-edged blade 40 is maintained in a condition oftransverse curvature for the shaving operation. `The blade support II is shouldered to provide parallel as best shown inFigs. 3 and 4D Its longitudinal edges` are formed as guard bars I2 being deflected downwardly and outwardly and partially separated from the body ofthe supportby longi` tudinal slots. The inner or blade-engaging `face .of the member II` is provided atgone end with a central longitudinal blade-locating rib I3rounded at both ends sothat `a blademay be conveniently* passed over it in Abeing presented to or Withdrawn from the razor. Beneath the blade-locating rib I3 the blade-supporting `member is provided in its lower face with a longitudinal slot I4 and in the other end of the member a transverse slot I5 is also provided in which iits the upturned end flange of an elongated cover` plate I6 shown separately in' Fig. 7.l The underlying cover plate has a perforation I'I shaped to surroundfreely the neck of the handle and the perforation is elongated to coincide or register substantially with the groove I4 already mentioned. `Adjacent tothe elongated part of the perforation is provided a pair of parallel downturned flanges I8 which ,actl as stops and guides for a prying device to be described presently.

A pivoted fulcrum block provided with transverse journals 2| is pivotally mounted to swing beneath the blade-supporting member Il, the journals 2| being received in a transverse channel in the lower face of the member II and being retained therein by the cover plate I6 as will appear from aninspection of Figs. 2 or 11'.

The fulcrum block is grooved or shouldered in its side faces to provide an undercut guideway 22 located adjacent and parallel to its outer face, that is to say, the face of the block which is lowermost when the safety razor is in upright position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The safety razor of my invention is not limited to any specific type of replaceable razor blade but as herein shown is adapted to take a thin flexible double edged blade 40 having a central longitudinal slot in which the blade-locating rib I3 is designed to t. The blade is provided with recesses at each corner which dene elongated unsharpened end portions in the blade.

Co-operating with the blade-supporting member II is a cap member having an upper portion 26 with a concave blade-shaping face, downwardly extending arms 21 at one end and a lower inwardly extending plate 28 perforated to receive the upper end of the handle with clearance. The blade-clamping portion 26 of the cap is provided at one end in its inner face with a longitudinal slot to receive the blade-locating rib I3. The portion 26 of the cap is narrower than the blade-supporting member |I, extending just beyond the fulcrum shoulders thereof and it is slightly longer than the blade-supporting member so that its opposite corners furnish projecting faces to be engaged by the prying device already mentioned. At the rear or left end of the bladesupporting plate, as seen in the drawings, the guards I2 are extended outside the arms 21 and the cap member thereof is loosely connected to swing about one end of the member II.` A leafspring 24 is partially enclosed within the cap member and bears at its opposite forked ends against the under face of the member II, being provided with a clearance hole 25 for the passage of the handle. The spring 24 therefore acts at all times to move the cap member downwardly and thus to hold the blade-engaging members I I and 26 in yielding clamping engagement with sufcient pressure to bow the blade 4I] transversely and cause it to assume shaving position.

The safety razor thus fardescribed may be supplied with a blade by hand if desired and in this case the blade is merely pushed forcibly in an endwise direction into the right-hand end of the razor as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, while the spring-clamping pressure of the members II and 26 is relieved by pushing the bottom plate cap 28 upwardly by the lingers. Under these circumstances the inner end of the blade will pass up f over the rib I3 and then the rib will enter theI longitudinal slot of the blade, thereafter centralizing and guiding the blade as it is moved rearwardly until its advancing shoulders engage the arms 21 of the cap member. The blade is thus fully seated upon the convex blade-supporting member I I and when the spring 24 is permitted to do so the concave cap portion 26 bows the blade and holds it firmly in shaving position as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The right-hand end edge of the blade-shaping portion 26 of the cap is made concave as shown in Fig. 10 to facilitate the presentation and removal of a blade by hand as just explained.

My invention, however, includes a novel double-ended blade magazine which has the functions of a prying device to separate tempo-- rarily the blade-clampingmembers and of a mechanical blade-feeding device by which one blade at a time may be supplied to the safety razor without being touched by the user. The magazine herein shown corresponds in many respects to that forming the subject matter of my prior application Serial No. 331,847, filed April 26, 1940, although the magazine of that application is not, without modification, adapted to serve as a prying device.

The magazine herein shown has an elongated tubular body which includes a base 30, side walls and parallel overhanging flanges 3|, separated from each other by a continuous central opening in the form of a wide slot. Themagazine may be bent up and shaped out of metal or moulded of any suitable plastic compound. An elongated blade-locating bar or rib 32 is secured to the bottom of the magazine in symmetrical relation between the flanges 3|. The bar is substantially shorter than the magazine and its ends are v spaced equally within the ends of the magazine which are both open..y In its upper edge it is provided with two deep notches having rounded corners and these notches set off solid end p0rtions or blade stops. The blades 40 are retained in astack upon the rib 32 in staggered relation, that is to say, certain blades are located so as to engage one end of the rib 32 and alternate blades are located with their end portions filling one of the notches in the rib 32. The result is that the blades overlap and that adjacent blades are'separated from each other throughout both of their end portions.

'I'he bottom 30 of the magazine is provided at each end with a centrally-disposed longitudinal slot 33 of such dimensions as to t freely into the undercut guideway 22 of the fulcrum block 20 for substantially the whole length of the block.

The flanges 3| are provided at each end in their inner corners with oblique upstanding ribs 34 which constitute stiff pressure-applying surfaces and also act as stops for a feed slide 36. The latter has undercut ways in its edges to receive the edges of the overhanging flanges 3| and is provided with a corrugated upper face. It extends into the magazine sufficiently to engage only the uppermost blade 40 in the stack. The bottom ofthe magazine is reinforced with a fibre seat 35 and between this and the lowermost blade in the stack are provided leaf springs 31 which hold the blade stack upwardly with the uppermost blade in contact with the flanges 3| of the magazine.

In using the magazine thus described with the safety razor herein shown the magazine is y presented for initial engagement with the fulcrum block 20 as suggested in Fig. 8. This is effected by that end of the magazine which hap- -pens to be remote from the feeding slide 36, and while the fulcrum block 20 of the' razor occupies its normalinclined position. In this position the forked end of the magazine may be slipped yinto the guideway of the fulcrum block. Having made this preliminary engagement the outer end of the magazine is swung upwardly into horizontal position as suggested in Fig. 9 and as determined by the anges I8 of the cover plate already referred to. The flanges I8 are designed to arrest the movement of the magazine when it reaches a horizontalposition, as shown in Fig. 9 or 11, and wheni so arrested the uppermost blade 40 of the magazine is aligned with the blade-supporting face of the member H. Meanwhile the fulcrum block has rocked lupon its journals 2| and the flanges 3i have or separating movement of., the blade-clamping members has provided free passage for the reception of the uppermost blade I in the stack. That blade, therefore, may now be advanced by moving the feed slide toward the left, thus picking the uppermost blade in the stack and advancing it into shaving .position inthe razor. As soon as the-blade has been properly positioned, the magazine is allowed to swing back to its initial position and is disengaged from the fulcrum block 20, leaving theblade in position beneath the spring-pressed cap 26.

At the conclusion of the shaving operation, or when it is desired to remove the used blade, the user may grasp the outer end of the blade and withdraw it endwise toward the right from the razor. In supplying a new blade from the magazine the latter is reversed end-for-end since the feed slide has been left in a position adjacent to the razor. As newly presented, the other end of the magazine is engaged with the fulcrum block and the uppermost blade in the stack ejected by a movement ,of the feed slide toward the razor but in the opposite direction relatively to the magazine from that in which the previous blade delivery took place.

It will be appreciated that many details of construction may be varied from those herein illustrated, all Within the scope of the invention. For example, while the invention has been illustrated as embodied in a safety razor shaped to flex the blade transversely it would be within the scope of the invention to utilize clamping members having flat blade-clamping faces for clamping the blade in a flat shaving condition. The shape and location of the spring for urging together the blade clamping members may also be widely varied from that shown and, of course, a stationary fulcrum may be employed instead of the pivotally mounted block selected herein.

Having thus disclosed my invention, but only in a single preferred form, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A safety razor having an elongated blade-y supporting member, a cooperating cap member having a concave blade-engaging face and being mounted thereon to swing about a transverse axis at one end of the blade-supporting member, and spring means at all times urging the two said members together with blade-clamping pressure.

said members having a fulcrumand the other a pressure-receiving face for a prying device operating to separate them.

5. A safety razor having a handle, superposed 5 blade-clamping members carried thereby and' having a loose connection at one edge, a closing spring tending at all times to move said members together, a fulcrum member located below one member for supporting a Iprying device effective to separate the said blade-clamping members, and a pressure-receiving face on the other member to receive `pressure ofthe prying device.

6. A safety razor having a handle, astationary blade-supporting plate thereon, a box-like cap fitted about one end of said plate and extending on both sides thereof, a spring tending at al1 times to hold said cap in blade-clamping positionv and being partially enclosed by the cap, and a fulcrum associated with the blade-supporting plate for a device to pry up the cap.

7. A safety razor having cooperating springclosed blade-clamping members, one having a projection and the other having a fulcrum shouldered to receive a forked prying device for bearing against said projection to separate the two members.

8. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members, one being narrower than the other, a fulcrum projecting from the wider of said members to support a iprying device operative to separate said blade-clamping members, and spring means for subjecting the said members to clamping pressure.

9. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members, one being narrower than the other and spring pressed toward it, and a fulcrum block having a guideway therein and being 4pivotally mounted on the wider of said members to facilitate separation of said members against Aspring '-pressure.

.10. A safety razor having cooperating bladesected by a cross groove, a fulcrum block having journals located in said cross groove andv being arranged to swing partially in said longitudinal slot and adapted to facilitate separation of said blade-clamping members, and a slotted cover plate closing the cross groove.

12. A safety razor having cooperating blade- ,.1 Av,clamping members spring pressed into clamping 2. A safety'razor having an elongated blade-Q 'engagement a rocking fulcrum block on one of supporting member, a 'cooperating cap men/ibe' mounted in the razor to swing about. cne'end of the blade-supporting member as a fulcrum, blade-positioning means, and a spring for urging the free end of said cap member toward the blade-supporting member. l

3. A safety razor having elongated blade-holding members connected-together at one end and presenting a blade seat for the reception of a blade inserted'endwise between them, and spring clamping means f or said members acting to swing them into clamping relation.-

4. A safety razor having elongated bladeclamping members loosely connected together at one end and presenting a blade seat for a blade inserted endwise between them, and spring means tending to close said members, one of said members having a guideway for a prying device adapted to facilitate separation 'of said blade-clamping members against spring-pressure, -and xed stops for engaging the prying device to limit its movement about the vaxis of the fulcrum block.

13. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members spring pressed into clamping engagement and one having a fulcrum, in combination with an elongated magazine 'shaped to engage the fulcrum and movable to pry the blade- .0 clamping members apart to receive a blade from the magazine.

14; A safety razor comprising cooperating blade-clamping members spring pressed together and one having an undercut projecting fulcrum,

in combination witha forked magazine shaped to engage said iulcrum and movable to pry ther said members apart.

15. A safety razor comprising cooperating blade clamping members spring pressed together and having a fulcrum projecting from one of them, in combination with an elongated blade magazine shaped to engage the fulcrum and to swing into prying engagement with the other member, and stops to limit the swinging movement of the magazine when it reaches blade delivering relation with respect to said blade clamping members.

16. A safety razor comprising cooperating blade-clamping members shaped to receive a blade by endwise horizontal movement between them when the razor is held upright, and a fulcrum projecting from one of said members, in combination with a magazine shaped to engage the fulcrum and to swing into prying engagement with the other member, and stops for arresting the magazine when it has been swung into horizontal position.

17. A safety razor comprising cooperating blade-clamping members shaped to receive a blade by endwise movement between them, and a fulcrum block pivotally mounted Aon one of said members and having a longitudinal guideway therein, in combination with a magazine having a forked end for engaging in said guideway and being movable rst to swing with the fulcrum block into prying engagement with the other clamping member and then to slide longitudinally in the guideway to present a blade in delivering position.

18. A safety razor comprising opposed bladeclamping members having a blade seat between them shaped to receive a blade by endwise movement, a fulcrum projecting from one member, in combination with a blade magazine having a forked bottom projecting endwise beyond the rest of the magazine and. shaped to engage said fulcrum and then slide longitudinally with respect to the fulcrum to facilitate projecting a `blade from the magazine in proximity to the blade seat of the razor and to facilitate separation of said blade-clamping members at one end. Y

19. A safety razor comprising co-operating blade-clamping members loosely connected at one end, and spring means normally pressing said members toward each other ,throughout their entire 1ength,in combination with a blade magazine having a prying portion for temporarily separating said blade-clamping members at their ing rib. 5

unconnected ends, and meansvfor projecting a blade-between said members while so separated.

20. A safety razor comprising cooperating blade-clamping members loosely connected at one end to prevent complete disengagement and unconnected to permit separation at the other end, a blade-locating ribprojecting from one of said members adjacent to its free end, and spring means normally pressing said members toward each other throughout their entire length, in combination with a blade magazine having a prying portion for temporarily separating said bladeclamping members at their unconnected endsf and means for projecting a slotted blade between said members while so separated, the blade being guided in its movement by the said blade-locat- NICHOLAS TESTI. 

